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One thing that I have found to be genuinely funny is when liberals think that they KNOW what conservatives think and feel and their motivations for their beliefs.

Some of them say they want to increase communication with conservatives and they want to "convert them". But then they simply look foolish and end up being dismissed because they always cite ignorance and greed for the differences in opinion.

Pedalpower (20 posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Mon Jan-17-11 07:30 PM
Original message
What must we do to communicate with the Conservatives?

I made a New Year's resolution this year: don't argue with anyone who's unwilling to learn. I'm sick of people who never give an inch and never admit fault. And I now feel bad about my resolution, because it means I'm giving up and not having an effect. SO, I hope to discuss what we can do to reach this personality type. If we hope to make any permanent gains in the face of overwhelming financial disadvantage, it will have to come via improved communication and increased understanding with those middle-class and poor moderates and conservatives. It's time to find a way to bring the realization to these folks that their leaders do not have their interests at heart. This is to help spur such a conversation.

Right-wing leaders have discovered that Conservative voters, and many Moderates, respond to fear. They have honed their craft so well that issues and facts no longer have the impact that worry does. They use the macro to overwhelm the micro, and fact resides in the micro.

Conservatives now fear Liberals because they are convinced that the Left brings not discomfort to their way of thinking, but doom. Never will you hear a Conservative say that a Liberal policy will be a minor inconvenience to a Republican. Instead, it's painted as a complete loss of their way of life. We are painted as destroyers of everything that is righteous. Believing the propaganda repeated to them day after day, they feel little option other than to reject everything about us and our policies. I am not surprised at the vitriol that they have created and I'm not surprised by the violence. If I believed that my way of life was to be stolen from me, who knows what I might do.

WE ARE NOT REACHING CONSERVATIVE VOTERS WITH OUR NUANCED ARGUMENTS. Do you all get the magnitude of this? In the past, when both sides used nuanced approaches to the argument, facts had a chance to sway opinions. Now, our facts sound like trivia compared to the magnitude of their doomsday talk. By their personality type and chemical brain make-up, they respond differently than we do. Believe it or not, this has advantages, in life and even to us, should we choose to accept it...

WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR APPROACH WHEN MAKING OUR CASE TO THEM. We must tap into their emotional responses. We have to paint a picture of their futures under their leadership. We need to undermine their belief in their leaders (who rightfully deserve to be undermined). We need to make the connection between their economic policies and Communist nations(China). We need to show them what pollution is doing and will do to their children. We need to explain what war costs each of us, not just socially, but in our wallets. If we don't do it, we'll never reach them. If our current best efforts are failing, more of the same is not going to help. I am not talking about using lies to scare them; we need to use the TRUTH to scare them. Right now, they're not absorbing the truth because we present the information in a form that their minds cannot accept.

The best part is that, while we can co-opt their approach, they cannot use ours. Facts don't support their side, in most cases. We have an massive advantage, should we choose to take it. (ed. yea, sure, they're about facts........not emotion. If they were about facts they would be questioning the global warming "facts" and would look at biology and anatomy when it comes to abortion)

This will require a major shift in our approach. We will need experts, not only in politics, but in the workings of the human mind. It's cheap to implement; the challenge is whether or not we have the courage to accept this new way to communicate.

I would love to hear people's thoughts and if anybody can steer me toward more discussions of communication, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks for your time. I hope this stimulates some discussion.

They made the usual responses: brainwashed, ignorant, greedy, etc.

There was one common sense comment. They all ignored him/her.

Imajika (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Mon Jan-17-11 09:29 PM
Response to Original message
20. First, you have to stop attributing all these failings to only conservatives...

Your entire post is filled with assumptions and complaints about how stubborn and misguided conservatives thinking is. Read your post again. Conservatives could just as easily turn much if it around and claim progressives do the same thing. Let me give you some examples:

"Right-wing leaders have discovered that Conservative voters, and many Moderates, respond to fear."

Please. EVERYONE responds to fear, and every political party probably the world over appeals to it. Perhaps we Democrats generally do it more subtle ways, but make no mistake, we use fear to get out our voters. So saying that only the right wing uses this tactic is wrong.

"Conservatives now fear Liberals because they are convinced that the Left brings not discomfort to their way of thinking, but doom."

Come on. You must be new here or on any political forum. Many Democrats, liberals and progressives believe just the same thing of the right. That a right wing agenda means doom to us. Again, your arguing that only conservatives think this way when in fact all political partisans tend to view politics through this prism.

"WE ARE NOT REACHING CONSERVATIVE VOTERS WITH OUR NUANCED ARGUMENTS."

Yes, this just means we need to use the words better in conveying our beliefs. We allowed the right to to steal emotional terms and words and make those words their own. We could use many more Ed Schultz type commentators. Blue collar, tough, pushing a buy-American agenda, standing up for the average working class guy/gal, etc, etc. Basically, a down home, Mom&Apple Pie regular person with a streak of populism who advocates common sense progressive policy and appeals to middle America.

"We will need experts, not only in politics, but in the workings of the human mind."

No, we just need a more common sense, simple approach. American's tune out long drawn out theories on this, that or the other. What people tend to respond to are simple arguments that they can relate to, and appeals to tradition and emotion. American's are also deeply patriotic so appeals to that side of them is important as well.

Here are my suggestions to you when arguing with anyone with different opinions. If you really want to change their mind then you need to make your points and listen to them. Make sure to agree with them on anything they may even get half right - give them credit for their idea or thoughtfulness or whatever. Doing that makes them feel you are also listening to them. As you talk, DO NOT scream at them or try to shout them into submission. This just doesn't work as they will become reflexively defensive and be even more against whatever it is your pushing. You have to sort of plant the seed, let them talk and agree with them when you can as encouragement and sort of let them come to your conclusion. If you can make them believe they realized your ideas were right all by themselves, they are more likely to retain these new beliefs and start trying to persuade others.

You have to accept that human nature is what it is. All sides can be appealed to by fear, all political partisans tend to view the other side as awful and perhaps evil, all sides tend to respond to emotional appeals.

Seems Pedal hasn't talk to anyone who doesn't think as he/she does for what I think might be years ( as Dennis Miller would say " I might be wrong". ).

Pedal just assumes that everyone thinks just like he/she and can be motived/ convinced that same as he/she ( fear, liberal guilty, looking only for answers that make you feel good). Its a stupid and lazy way of doing things. And when he/she does find someone Pedal thinks they are stupid and evil.

First, they would have to stop being condesending ( You poor thing, I know it isn't your fault for being born in fly-over country and being white trash). Second, drop the Eitism, it only pisses people off when you think you are better then they are; America has no Nobles, we ran them out in the Revolution,remember.
And third, if you insult the living hell out of people, they don't stick around to hear your speech about how you can run their lives better then they do; we are not children, and you ain't Big Brother ( even thou some times I think you might want to be).

But now here's a message that you should hear Pedal ... people mostly want to be left alone. If they need help, they'll ask; so stay out of their business unless they are hurting someone else.